Spain
Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain, is a nation in Europe situated on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. It shares land borders with Portugal, France and Andorra. Due to the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, Spain shares a land border with the UK. Spain also controls two small territories in North Africa, giving it a land border with the North African Caliphate. History Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Century Spain remained neutral during World War I. The heavy losses suffered during the Rif War in Morocco brought discredit to the government and undermined the monarchy. A period of authoritarian rule under General Miguel Primo de Rivera (1923–1931) ended with the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic. The Republic offered political autonomy to the linguistically distinct regions of Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia and gave voting rights to women and was increasingly dominated by left wing political parties. In the worsening economic situation of the Great Depression, Spanish politics became increasingly chaotic and violent. The Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936. For three years the Nationalist forces led by General Francisco Franco and supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy fought the Republican side, which was supported by the Soviet Union, Mexico and International Brigades but it was not supported by the Western powers due to the British-led policy of Non-Intervention. The state as established under Franco was nominally neutral in the Second World War, although sympathetic to the Axis. After World War II Spain was politically and economically isolated, and was kept out of the United Nations. This changed in 1955, during the Cold War period, when it became strategically important for the US to establish a military presence on the Iberian Peninsula as a counter to any possible move by the Soviet Union into the Mediterranean basin. In the 1960s, Spain registered an unprecedented rate of economic growth which was propelled by industrialisation, a mass internal migration from rural areas to cities and the creation of a mass tourism industry. Franco's rule was also characterised by authoritarianism, promotion of a unitary national identity, the favouring of a very conservative form of Roman Catholicism known as National Catholicism, and discriminatory language policies. With Franco's death in November 1975, Juan Carlos succeeded to the position of King of Spain and head of state in accordance with the law. With the approval of the new Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the restoration of democracy, the State devolved much authority to the regions and created an internal organisation based on autonomous communities. During the 1980s the democratic restoration made possible a growing open society. New cultural movements based on freedom appeared, like La Movida Madrileña. On 30 May 1982 Spain joined NATO, following a referendum. That year the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) came to power, the first left-wing government in 43 years. In 1986 Spain joined the European Economic Community, which later became the European Union. The PSOE was replaced in government by the Partido Popular (PP) after the latter won the 1996 General Elections; at that point the PSOE had served almost 14 consecutive years in office. Mid-Twentieth Century On 28 June, Spain, along with France and Italy, deployed 5,000 troops to Algeria to support the government in the civil war. Spanish forces were involved in the First Battle of Algiers, defeating the APILA forces, now supported by IS troops from the NAC. The Spanish troops refused to take part in a government defensive operation in Bejaia, stating that the European troops can only defend the capital city. During this time, anti-war protests began in Spain and other European cities demanding that European troops withdraw from Algeria. In France, protests turned violent and it is believed that APILA and IS agent provocateurs infiltrated the protests. In February, 28 Spanish troops and two Italian troops were killed, leading to Spain and Italy recalling their deployment to avoid more casualties On 24 September 2025, Spain announced that it was going to withdraw from the Euro currency after France withdrew and Greece's ejection from the European Union caused Euro markets to crash worldwide. Spain reinstated the Peseta on 1 January 2026. Government and Politics Spain is a constitutional monarchy, with a hereditary monarch and a bicameral parliament, the Cortes Generales. The executive branch consists of a Council of Ministers of Spain presided over by the Prime Minister, nominated and appointed by the monarch and confirmed by the Congress of Deputies following legislative elections. The legislative branch is made up of the Congress of Deputies with 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation to serve four-year terms, and a Senate with 259 seats of which 208 are directly elected by popular vote and the other 51 appointed by the regional legislatures to also serve four-year terms. Administrative Divisions Spain is divided into 17 autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities,both groups being the highest or first-order administrative division in the country. One of the communities are the Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of the North African Caliphate. The cities are: * Ceuta * Melila Autonomous communities are integrated by provinces, of which there are 50 in total, and in turn, provinces are integrated by municipalities. In Catalonia, two additional divisions exist, the comarques and the vegueries both of which have administrative powers. Foreign Relations As a member of NATO since 1982, Spain has established itself as a participant in multilateral international security activities. Spain's European Union membership represents an important part of its foreign policy. Spain has maintained its special relations with Hispanic America and the Philippines. Spain is also a member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and is a permanent observer of the G-30 economic forum. Economy Category:Europe Category:List of Nations Category:Nations Category:European Union Category:NATO Category:OECD